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Whiptail (Character)
For the checkpoint of the same name, see Whiptail (Checkpoint). Whiptail 'is a major character and antagonist in ''Heavenly Sword. '''Biography Early Life A high-ranking general in Bohan's army alongside Flying Fox, Whiptail is shown to have an affectionate, and perhaps sexual, relationship with King Bohan throughout the game. It is unknown how Whiptail came to be the half-human, half-snake creature she is featured as in Heavenly Sword, but it is possible she was either born as this phenomonen or modified her body to resemble that of a snake. It is also unknown how she came to meet Bohan or if he was responsible for her body, but it is apparent that the duo have known each other for a while by the time the events of Heavenly Sword take place, as she is a leader of substantial rank within Bohan's army. Events of Heavenly Sword Whiptail makes her first in-game appearance after the Chapter Two checkpoint The Prison, in which she is featured in a cutscene alongside fellow Generals Flying Fox and Roach as well as a captured Shen. She makes a point of insulting Flying Fox, calling it a "matter of opinion" when Flying Fox attempts to convince Bohan he isn't a fool following his bungled attempt to capture the Sword from Nariko. This prompts to Flying Fox to fire back at her, which leads to a full-scale argument in which Whiptail refers to the Fox as a "sss-sexless skull on a stick, with knives poking out of every orifice." Before their banter can continue further, they are briefly silenced by Bohan, which is followed by dialogue between the monarch and Flying Fox. Whiptail is seen in his arms briefly, having mysteriously caused her to fall unconscious for a brief period of time before regaining her consciousness not long after. She then proceeds to make sexually suggestive advances towards Bohan, asking him what she "can do for him." This moment is interrupted by Roach, Bohan's son, who is then berated by Bohan for calling him "daddy" and condescendingly chastised by Whiptail as well, calling him "poor darling." Bohan then instructs his generals to leave; after this, Whiptail is not seen again until the Chapter Two checkpoint Bait and Trap, where Nariko must defeat her personal guards in her temple. Whiptail proceeds to comment on her sanctuary as Nariko fights, mentioning the previous clans defeated by Bohan and his armies as well as the bodies of their leaders being displayed alongside them. She then taunts Nariko, stating that "she and Shen have become very close" in her absence. This is explained in the cutscene following the checkpoint, in which Whiptail reveals to Nariko that Shen contemplated committing infanticide following her birth when "he sssaw what a foul affront to the prophecy you Nariko were." As Nariko becomes visibly upset at this revelation, Whiptail delights in it, proclaiming in the following checkpoint that their fight will be "so much better because you're angry." However, whatever confidence she may have had in their upcoming fight quickly dissipates once Whiptail experiences the full breadth of Nariko's abilities with the Heavenly Sword. Midway through the fight, Whiptail advises Nariko to simply give up and hand over the Sword, implying she'll let her walk away if she does so. Nariko responds by calling Whiptail a "slit-faced psycho," causing the snake-maiden to fly into a rage and Nariko to mock what Whiptail said at its beginning, proclaiming "it's so much better when you're angry." Following this and another portion of the battle, Whiptail again goes back to taunting Nariko, proclaiming that no one will care when she kills her; this prompts Nariko to respond again, this time stating that she'll "gut her like a stinking fish." This causes Whiptail to fly into a rage once again, with the intention of defeating Nariko in combat. Death However, Nariko's skills with the Sword prove to be too much, as Whiptail wounds up impaled by the blade at the end of their final battle. As Nariko slips in and out of consciousness, she watches as Bohan arrives to Whiptail's temple, where takes note of Whiptail's situation. Dying, Whiptail expresses fear to her lover, as she states she "cannot feel her legs;" Bohan's response is to "feel them for her." Comforting her one last time, Bohan bids Whiptail a good night, before violently snapping her neck, killing her instantly. He then proceeds to retrieve the Sword from her lifeless body, as Nariko finally loses consciousness. Events of The Film Whiptail also appears in the [[Heavenly Sword (Film)|2014 film adaptation of Heavenly Sword,]], where she is seen commanding a large contingent of soldiers tasked to retrieve Loki, the focal point of the Heavenly Warrior prophecy, from a village located in the Dead Marsh. Defeating the soldiers who were razing the town, Nariko and Kai discover Whiptail, who proceeds to do battle with the sisters in an effort to retrieve the Heavenly Sword from Nariko. However, her effort is in vain, as they manage to defeat her, killing her and watching her body sink to the bottom of the marsh, though not before taunting the sisters one last time. 'Personality' ''Heavenly Sword'' Whiptail is potrayed as a woman who delights in the suffering of others, making her well-suited to her position as a high-ranking General within Bohan's army. However, in contrast to her rival Flying Fox, who seems especially keen to inflict physical torment upon others, Whiptail prefers that of emotional and psychological manipulation and torture when dealing with her enemies. This can be seen when Nariko first encounters her in her temple, where she takes the liberty of informing her of all the flags and dead Warlords hanging about the place before asking her "Do you see your own flag, Nariko?" Her skill in manipulation is such that even Shen was unable to resist providing her information about himself as well as his clan, such as details regarding Nariko's birth, the Heavenly Warrior prophecy and his brief rumination on murdering Nariko as an infant. When she notices Nariko is visibly shaken by these revelations, Whiptail uses it as an opportunity to both taunt Nariko and utilize an advantage in their upcoming fight. Whiptail also does not restrict this behavior to simply enemies in combat either; as seen in the cutscene of The Prison, Whiptail chastises Roach for referring to Bohan as his father. In addition, Whiptail is shown to be an extremely seductive and sexual character; she is dressed in very revealing clothing, and is implied to have a sexual relationship with Bohan as well. This, alongside her competitive nature, causes friction between her and Flying Fox, who insults her multiple times in the one instance they are seen together. However, when it is shown that Whiptail may not have achieved her intended goals, she becomes infuriated and irrational, with the main goal of harming the person nearest to her. This can be seen in Nariko's battle with her, as her attempts at psychologically influencing the fight in her favor were thwarted by Nariko's indifference at her insults, with the latter even taking delight in how frustrated the former became. This arises from Whiptail's need for approval, which is evident in the situations in which Bohan is mentioned or seen, such as in Bohan's throne room or when Nariko insults the nature of their relationship during their battle. This would ultimately prove to be her undoing, as Nariko eventually defeats Whiptail in combat, leading to her death at the hands of Bohan. The Film Contrary to the events of the video game, Whiptail is not seen outside of a single scene in the film, with that scene being the combat scene between her and Nariko and Kai. She retains the traits as depicted in the video game, such as her arrogance and manipulation, taunting Nariko throughout the fight and stating how she manipulated the villagers into revealing the location of Loki in return for a reward. Despite this, Nariko and Kai are able to defeat Whiptail in combat quite handily; however, as this is the only scene in the film in which she appears, it is unknown if she retains the same manner of relationship with Bohan as she does in the game. 'Abilities' ''Heavenly Sword'' Whiptail is shown to be a very capable fighter. She fights especially well in water, which is evident in Nariko's battle with her. Her attacks include a projected jet of water, which if successful, stuns the player and gives Whiptail enough time to the engage the player in close combat. The best way to avoid this is to roll horizontally away from the attack. Her arsenal also includes a large wave of water projected towards Nariko, although the player can combat this by using the Heavenly Sword's Range Attack to disperse the wave. Her main weapon is her namesake whip, which can do immense amounts of damage to Nariko in rapid succession if care is not taken to avoid her attacks. Should she receive too much damage in close combat, Whiptail will retreat underwater, swimming to the other side of her temple before launching her aforementioned water attacks. Despite her speed, Nariko is more than capable of matching it as well as her attacks, making Whiptail one of the easier Bosses faced in the game. The Film Whiptail is depicted in the film as having a similar method of attacking enemies as she does in the video game. While her projected water attack is noticeably absent, she does retain her trademark whip as well as the ability to send colossal waves at her enemies in a moment's notice. However, in the film she has to fight two enemies at once, in Nariko and Kai, making it ever more difficult for her in combat and severly limiting her abilities. Depiction Whiptail is portrayed as an average-built woman, with pale, limpid-like skin and light-colored eyes. Scantily clad, she wears a gold-colored breastplate across chest as well as a series of gold-colored bands along her right arm. A piece of armor also adorns her pelvis and a portion of her right thigh, and she wears a band on her left arm as well. She also wears a gold-colored pair of boots, which extend upwards to her knees. Perhaps the most striking part of Whiptail's appearance is the physical alterations covering her body. The vast majority of her skin, save her face and a portion of her stomach and legs, is covered in green-blue scales, and she has incisions resembling gills on her cheeks that may be responsible for her ability to use water effectively. The entirety of her teeth have been sharpened to a razor-fine point, and her nails are extremely long and sharp as well. Whiptail is bald as well, although she covers this using a giant sea serpent as a head dress, which also uses to move especially quickly through water. However, this may also be connected to her physically, as it can be seen moving at the end of the Eye of the Storm whilst Whiptail claims she is paralyzed. Appearances Whiptail appears in the 2007 video game Heavenly Sword as well as the 2014 film adaptation of the same name. 'Trivia' *Whiptail is bald, as is revealed in concept art unlocked throughout the game. This may be the reason for the snake that adorns her head. *In real life, a Whiptail is a type of lizard commonly found in the western United States, varying in color from black to orange to teal. *Whiptail, like every other boss Nariko battles in the game, is not killed by Nariko. Rather, it is King Bohan who ends her life by snapping her neck and then retrieving the Sword from her lifeless body. **However, Nariko does indeed kill her in the film. *Whiptail is the last of the three major bosses to appear in Heavenly Sword, not making her first appearance until the midway point of Chapter Two. *In addition, Whiptail is the only female Boss Nariko fights in the game as well as the film. *Whiptail's voice and motion capture actor, Race Davies, also potrays Succubus in DmC: Devil May Cry. **This would explain the similarities between the two characters, as a succubus, according to theological history, was a female demon who preyed upon "weak and virile men" to manipulate them into achieving their own goals, playing well into Whiptail's character. The Devil May Cry ''series was also made by Ninja Theory. *Whiptail's appearance may be a reference to the apperance of snakes or river serpents in Chinese mythology, who were said to be a mix of both serpents and other body parts, such as having human heads, or magical abilities such as shape shifting. This plays well into Whiptail's water-controlling abilities. *Whiptail, like many other characters featured in ''Heavenly Sword, appears to suffer from a form of mental illness. In her case, she may be afflicted by what is known as Histrionic Personality Disorder. **This illness, defined as a series of excessive-attention seeking emotions that include egocentrism, a low tolerance for frustration and inappropriately seductive behavior, is exhibited by Whiptail in multiple instances, such as her volatile response to Nariko's insults, her banter with Flying Fox and her relationship with Bohan. 'Gallery' Whiptail 2.jpg Whiptail Art.png Whiptail.3.jpg Whiptail.jpg Whiptail 4.jpg Category:Characters Category:Antagonists Category:Female characters Category:Deceased characters Category:Movie characters Category:Generals